Vanderbilt’s Men’s Tennis participated in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend from Jan. 24–26 hosted by Duke. The tournament was a four-team, two-round competition in which teams competed in three doubles matches and six singles matches. To advance, teams needed to win four of the nine matches. Vanderbilt dispatched Cornell in the finals, but No. 11 Duke proved too formidable for the Commodores.
Cornell vs. Vanderbilt
The Commodores won two of their three doubles matchups to start the weekend. Senior Michael Ross and No. 100 Nathan Cox took down Cornell’s Rushil Khosla and No. 61 Eric Verdes. Not to be outshone, Pablo Martinez Gomez and Danil Panarin triumphed over Cornell’s Radu Papoe and Rodrigo Fernandes. The score for the match was 6-3. Fifth-year Henry Ruger and first-year Callum Markowitz fell to the Big Red’s Adit Sinha and Jack McCarthy, 1-6. Cornell staved off a sweep by the Commodores with that win but failed to prevent the Commodores from winning the crucial point in doubles play.
Up 1-0 entering singles play, the Commodores maintained their momentum, with Panarin taking down Sinha in two sets, 6-2 and 6-1. Ruger followed Panarin’s lead by taking down Verdes. Verdes put up some resistance in the first set, yet Ruger still took it 6-4. The second set was all Ruger, as he steamed past Verdes 6-0.
Cox secured the victory over Cornell by displaying his perseverance against Papoe. The ranked Commodore dominated the first set, 6-2. However, Papoe rallied to take the second set. Cox regained his composure and took the third set, winning the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. With those singles wins, the Commodores advanced to the tournament finals against No. 11 Duke, who defeated Old Dominion.
Duke vs. Vanderbilt
The Commodores came out strong in doubles play against the tournament hosts, capturing the first point with a solid 6-4 win from Cox and Ross over the Blue Devils’ Connor Krug and Pedro Rodenas. The pair worked well together, executing clean volleys and controlling the net. However, Duke quickly bounced back by taking the next two doubles matchups. Andreja Petrovic and Cooper Williams defeated Panarin and Gomez 6-4. The final point came when Krug and Remy Dugardin edged out Ruger and Markowitz with a 6-4 victory, giving Duke the doubles point. Despite a valiant effort from the Commodores, Duke left with a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
The Blue Devils swept the Commodores in singles. Markowitz was the first to finish, falling short against Dugardin. The match score was 1-6, 2-6. Cox fell to No. 47 Williams 2-6 and 3-6 on the first court. Duke sealed the win with Krug’s 4-6, 4-6 triumph over Ruger. The other Commodores fared well before they were forced to forfeit their matches. Panarin fell in the first set but swept the second. Ross clinched his first set, going 7(5)-6 before forfeiting in the second set. Gomez took the first set 6-3 and had a strong 4-1 lead over the opposing Blue Devil before also leaving his match unfinished.
Vanderbilt head coach Scott Brown was optimistic about his team’s future despite the tough defeat.
“I know if we keep working and building off of this, working day-to-day and trying to get better, then we are going to start winning these matches,” Brown said. “Our greatest weapon as a team is our heart. And I know we’re going to rip some hearts out along the way if we keep playing how we are.”
Vanderbilt will have a chance to “rip some hearts out” in a doubleheader against Belmont and Southern Indiana on Feb. 1 at home.
